The Wolf Side 15: Dragon Mountain
by rokchichomesickg
Summary: Wolf tracks Virginia and the others to Dragon Mountain


Wolf woke up in the hotel feeling stiff and achy. For one glorious moment, he forgot about what had happened with Virginia. He was about to bound out of bed and go find her when he remembered. A small whine escaped his throat and he pulled his knees to his chest, protecting his heart. A lump formed in his throat, but he cleared it, determined not to shed any more tears over Virginia. She had made her choice, and it wasn't Wolf. He felt sick to his stomach. For once he didn't feel like eating anything, but he forced himself to gather his things and eat a little something at the hotel bar. He had to keep up his strength, after all. What use would he be to the Queen if he was weak?

Another wave of nausea hit him. He was truly the Queen's servant now. What would Virginia think about that? He shook his head, discarding the thought. _It doesn't matter now_. The Queen had told him that Virginia had been manipulating him this whole time, just to get his help. He had a difficult time believing that, but the Queen had sounded so sincere. _Had_ Virginia just been using him? It would've been only too easy to use Wolf's feelings for her against him. He had to admit that it made sense. Virginia didn't trust anybody. Why would she have trusted Wolf to come along? _Because she had only wanted someone to guide them, to protect them. Such a waste!_ He felt like Virginia was the wolf and he was the sheep. She had tricked him. _Had she? The kiss. . . _

Wolf shook his head again. No point dwelling on things that would never come to pass. He pocketed a small mirror he had seen spilling out of a woman's purse when her back was turned. At least breakfast at the bar was good for one thing today: sleepy patrons. He was to await further instructions from the Queen, but he had to leave Kissing Town as soon as possible. The happy couples, the magic, the music. . . all of it was making him want to bite someone, and he didn't fancy going back to prison anytime soon. He walked along the cobblestone street, shoulders hunched and brow furrowed. He felt like his face was going to freeze in a permanent frown. He heard incredulous conversation as he walked.

"Did you hear about the mirror-breaker," asked one woman to another.

"I did! Whatever was he doing on a roof with a magic mirror?"

Wolf perked up at that. Could it be? How many magic mirrors could be in this town? It _had_ to be them.

"No one knows, but I heard that the bad luck started here in town. Lots of people were angry."

"I imagine so. Good riddance to them. We don't want bad luck here."

Wolf stopped listening at that point. So the others had left town, too. He frowned. Where would they go? The mirror was broken; Virginia and Tony couldn't go home. Would they go back to the castle? Prince still needed to turn back into a man.

_Wolf_, said the Queen's voice. He fished the mirror out of his pocket and faced the Queen. He bowed to her image.

"My Lady," he said. She smiled.

_I want you to do something for me_.

"Very well." This was the part he was dreading. The Queen would want to know all about Virginia and the mirror.

_I want you to follow them_. He frowned.

"Follow who, Your Majesty?" _Please don't say Virginia_. He tried to keep as composed as possible.

_I think you know who, Wolf. _

The Queen smiled her enigmatic smile and broke contact, leaving Wolf to stare at his own image. He looked terrible. His eyes were sad and hooded, and he hadn't shaved in a few days. He was starting to look like the big, bad wolf after all. He shut the mirror with a snap and stowed it back in his pocket with a sigh. The _one_ thing he didn't want to do, and the Queen had asked him to do it. He was to be a spy. He let out a small growl and squared his shoulders. Very well. He would spy on Virginia. She hadn't wanted him anyway. Why should he care?

Wolf marched straight up to a carriage driver.

"Excuse me," he said. The man looked down at him from his seat.

"Morning, sir," said the man in a chipper attitude. "Where to?" Wolf shook his head.

"Nowhere. I heard something about a mirror-breaker." The driver's eyes darkened. "Can you tell me which way they went?" The driver squirmed a little in his seat.

"Don't know why you'd want to chase after bad luck, son," he replied, "but they went that way," he pointed, "toward the mountain. I heard they took some of the pieces." Wolf nodded.

"Thank you."

It _would_ be just like Virginia to try to put the mirror back together. He had lost track of the time. How many days had he stayed in the hotel? He wasn't sure. It felt just like yesterday, but the headlines on the papers said it had been a few days. Had he been so distraught that he hadn't noticed the time passing? _Oh, I'll never catch up_, he groaned inwardly. _But I have orders from the Queen._

When he had packed whatever food he could into a bag, he began his journey toward the mountain. Wolf hoped they hadn't gone as far as the Dwarf Kingdom. That would be hard to explain. The Dwarves were very secretive. When he finally got out of Kissing Town, he could see no mountain, only foothills, so he used his nose and hoped it wouldn't rain. It had already rained a couple of days ago, but it was a light rain. . . not enough to wash away Virginia's scent. He was already so attuned to it, he could follow her in his sleep. He smiled for the first time in days, a wicked, cunning smile. _I'm coming for you_, he thought.

The trail led him to a small farm house at the foot of a very large mountain, where the smell of trolls and something burning was strong. He felt his stomach clench. _This can't be good. I thought the Trolls had been turned into gold!_ He peeked in through one of the windows and saw a man trying to melt something shiny over a large pot. A goldsmith. Stupid man! He set the Trolls free! With Tony's bad luck, it was bound to happen. Virginia wouldn't have been the one to break the mirror – Wolf was sure of that. The scent was only light here, so he assumed they hadn't stayed. He followed the Trolls' stink and Virginia's lovely scent to a trail head. A sign read that questing was illegal without a permit. _Seriously? Who's guarding the trail then?_ Wolf sighed to himself and continued his hunt. Pretty soon the trail began to slope upwards.

A light breeze was blowing, for which Wolf was thankful. The air was getting thin and he was starting to sweat. A strong scent of fresh blood hit him and he wrinkled his nose. _Virginia!_ For a moment he began to panic, but then he remembered that she had dismissed him. _Calm down. She's no longer your concern. The Queen wants you to bring Virginia to her_. He would obey orders this time. He was determined to forget his feelings for Virginia. If he forgot, maybe it wouldn't hurt so much. Wolf's thoughts were interrupted by a loud growl coming from his stomach. He stopped to eat a quick sandwich or two. He couldn't stay long. The longer he stayed in one place, the farther he'd have to go to find them, and the Queen had said to do it quickly.

The closer he got to the top of the mountain, the more he noticed that there were bones of knights scattered amongst the rocks. Their armor was charred. _Dragons_, Wolf growled to himself. _Oh, Virginia. . . you didn't go into Dragon Mountain, did you?_ He groaned inwardly when he followed the scent to the bones of a very large dragon. His maw was open, guarding the door to the Dwarf Kingdom. He really didn't want to go underground; it reminded him too much of prison. Maybe he could contact the Queen for a better route. . . He took out the small hand mirror from his pocket and called on her.

_What_ _is it_, asked the Queen. She seemed a little more agitated than usual.

"The girl seems to have gone into the Dwarf Kingdom, Your Majesty," he reported. The Queen's eyebrow went up as her lips pursed, giving her a look of intrigue.

_Someone has tried to spy on me_, she said, ignoring his report. Wolf frowned, confused.

"Oh, dear. That's unfortunate," he mumbled. The Queen sighed.

_Dragon Mountain stands beside Snow White Falls. The only image my mirror can show me of the spy is underwater._

Wolf took a moment to process the information. That would mean that Virginia and the others were already through the mountain. How much time had it taken him to get here, anyway? Of course, he did have to admit to himself that he'd pitied himself for a couple of days in Kissing Town. Wolf chastised himself silently.

"Do you think it was the girl?"

_Yes_. Wolf nodded.

"Very well, Your Majesty. I'll find the Falls."

_Do it quickly_, she commanded. Wolf felt a strange pull on the back of his neck. The Queen's image disappeared from the mirror. He put it back in his pocket and decided that he could get to the Falls faster without going through Dragon Mountain. He'd been here before, once. His parents had told him the story of Snow White and the Evil Queen, and how it was rumored that Snow White had disappeared beneath the Falls. They had surprised Wolf and his siblings by taking them to the Falls when the family was moving. Wolf had thought it was fascinating, but his brothers had teased him about it. He huffed quietly to himself, glad that he had decided to break off on his own, but he also remembered that his parents had shown him a goat path around the mountain.

It took him quite a while to find it, but it certainly saved him time. He could see the Falls below him in the distance. All he had to do was follow the trail down to it, which proved to be more difficult that he thought. The smaller rocks kept slipping under his feet, making him slide forward. He lost his balance a few times and had the scrapes to prove it. Night was beginning to fall quickly, but he couldn't stop. There was nowhere to rest safely on the narrow trail. He would make it to the bottom first.

The moon had risen and the stars were twinkling overhead. Wolf stopped to admire them for a moment, thinking about how Virginia's eyes reflected the stars. He sighed sadly. She had broken his heart and had still somehow managed to continue on her quest for a traveling mirror. He had heard rumors that there was more than one. Maybe they were true.

He was glad when he finally reached the foot of the mountain. The air had gotten much cooler, and he'd had to put on his jacket. The Falls roared loudly as the water spilled over the cliff. Wolf walked upstream for a while until he came to a place where the river bank had been packed a little by footprints. He could barely smell the scent of wet dog here, but it was distinct. There was no scent of Troll. Wolf snorted in amusement. They couldn't track to save their lives. At least he knew he was going in the right direction. He sat down to rest, taking off his boots. They had filled with pebbles; he dumped them out. He didn't really want to draw attention to himself with a fire, but the air was getting too cold for comfort.

Wolf stared into the fire, wondering where Virginia was now. Was she thinking of him, too? _Of course not. Get a hold of yourself_, Wolf thought. _You could never win a girl like her_. His stomach clenched sadly as he closed his eyes and let sleep take him.


End file.
